Which gun should I "restore"?

[levsmith]

Hey everyone,
First off, sorry if this is in the wrong spot. My friend and I are talking about starting a gun store once he gets out of the army. I would like to start learning a little about gunsmithing and restoration. Right now I am looking at a couple guns at a local shop that are cheap and need some work that I could practice on. I would like to practice rust removal, bluing, stock refinishing, and maybe some custom stockmaking. So basically, I am looking for an opinion on which gun would be better to start with. The first is a Springfield 120a, a single-shot .22 bolt action rifle. the second is a Eastern Arms 1929, break-over 16 gauge shotgun. They both could use some rebluing work to the receiver and barrel. The Springfield is in relatively good shape overall but has a pretty deep dent about 1/8" wide and 1.5" long on the stock. I guess this one would be a good candidate to practice the custom stockmaking. From what I noticed on the shotgun, the stock is in pretty good condition, just needs refinished. They are both priced at $80. Now I know, some people are completely against restoring a gun because of the loss of value but these are both from what I can tell, "store brands" and not as collectible. These are basically just to practice on for now. Anyways, let me know what your opinion is. If its mixed opinions, I might just have to get both.

 

[Lee Roder]

Sounds ambitious but if it floats your boat, more power to you. Stock work is an artform unto itself. For a similar price, you can easily diversify into real (surplus) rifles which will give you no end of "practice". And perhaps even a saleable product as a result. Good luck to you.

 

[surbat6]

I'd suggest you shop around a bit for your project gun. $80 seems a bit much to pay for a gun that's primarily a test bed for refinishing. Our local gunshop often has .22 rifles for less than $50 and single-shot shotguns for less than $30 (and they LOOK it!). I just sold (I'm a part-time clerk there) a single shot 12 gauge project gun of the rack for $19. I've BOUGHT real cockroaches (usually 12 ga. single-shots) for $5 and given them a bit of TLC.
I'd expect you want to sell the guns you've worked on at a reasonable price, including your time and materials. You may be able to get the local dealers to buy a few guns they might otherwise refuse and resell them to you for not so much money, especially if you offer to take on a refinishing or repair jobs for them when you get your gunsmith's license.

 

[TX1911fan]

Either will be good and will teach you a ton of what you need to know. However, you cannot learn everything on your own. Find a technical college and take gunsmithing courses. Otherwise, you're going to end up learning on your customer's guns, and that is just not right.

 

[hammerklavier]

Find something in worse shape. Something that looks like junk, so when you're finished you'll feel like you've accomplished something.

 

[xd9]

here is a video i found about how to remove dents from wood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_Z_h76Sd1w&feature=fvw hopeully it helps

 

[Drako]

Hey everyone,
First off, sorry if this is in the wrong spot. My friend and I are talking about starting a gun store once he gets out of the army. I would like to start learning a little about gunsmithing and restoration. Right now I am looking at a couple guns at a local shop that are cheap and need some work that I could practice on. I would like to practice rust removal, bluing, stock refinishing, and maybe some custom stockmaking. So basically, I am looking for an opinion on which gun would be better to start with. The first is a Springfield 120a, a single-shot .22 bolt action rifle. the second is a Eastern Arms 1929, break-over 16 gauge shotgun. They both could use some rebluing work to the receiver and barrel. The Springfield is in relatively good shape overall but has a pretty deep dent about 1/8" wide and 1.5" long on the stock. I guess this one would be a good candidate to practice the custom stockmaking. From what I noticed on the shotgun, the stock is in pretty good condition, just needs refinished. They are both priced at $80. Now I know, some people are completely against restoring a gun because of the loss of value but these are both from what I can tell, "store brands" and not as collectible. These are basically just to practice on for now. Anyways, let me know what your opinion is. If its mixed opinions, I might just have to get both.

The cheapest!, reason being nobody ever starts out perfect and in some issues with "redoing" rebluing, parkerizing, dura coats, ect.... you might want to consider even getting a nonfunction gun for 10 to 20 dollars that way you don't feel bad and start with just a throw away that you can keep "redoing" with no worry or regrets. also for a thought you tube is a highly resourceful tool in all applications.